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Takahashi Meijin, the first gamer geek ever

Before gamer geeks became a dime a dozen, there was Takahashi Meijin. Takahashi was hugely famous and all over TV from the mid-to-late 80s because he was so good at every Family Computer games. Game software company Hudson actually hired him under the title “Meijin” (or expert)—his job was just to be really, really good at all their games. He can push a button with his finger 16 times per second. If you watch him play, he has absolutely no wasted movements—not even an extra blink, ever!

In this video, he says: “I’m actually pretty clumsy. It’s possible that you might be better at the next new game than me.” It shows his life story—born in Sapporo, dropped out of college, got a job at a supermarket, then eventually became a game software salesperson in Akihabara. He decided it would help him be a better salesman if he was good at the games, so he went home and practiced until he became the world’s first gaming expert. (Thanks, Baker!)

I am also the founder of The Tofu Project, a boutique program that helps Japanese entrepreneurs and creators think deeper, tell better stories, and go out into the world in a much bigger way. We work with companies like Mixi, Japan Airlines, and Salesforce.com.

Sometimes I try to explain Japanese culture on CNN, BBC, CBC, WSJ, ABC (so many acronyms!) or in person at places like the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, ETech, and Ignite!